This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, these statements are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is or is not prior art.
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase, believed to play an important role in the development and function of the nervous system. ALK is normally expressed in the central nervous system, with peak expression during the neonatal period. However, due to chromosomal translocations, ALK is also aberrantly expressed and activated in some cancers in the form of oncogenic fusion proteins. ALK fusion proteins are responsible for approximately 5-10% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The annual incidence of ALK positive lymphomas is about 100,000 worldwide, with 2000-3000 new cases occurring in EU countries. ALK is an excellent candidate for therapeutic intervention, as it plays an essential role in oncogenicity and its normal expression is mostly restricted to the central nervous system. Hence, understanding ALK's role in cancer genesis and response to various drug and drug-candidates would be of great benefit to society.
There is a need in the art for compositions and methods of measuring activity of tyrosine kinases, including ALK kinase. The compositions and methods described herein address that need.